- A recent examine carried out within the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary in Ladakh discovered the density of free-ranging dogs per 100 sq km to be 310 in Hanle and 61 in Tso Moriri areas of the sanctuary.
- Free-ranging dogs, significantly in protected areas, prey on wild animals and likewise compete with them for prey. Disturbance, illness transmission and hybridisation are different impacts of free ranging dogs on wildlife.
- Changthang has a wealthy range of mammals, together with three wild cats which might be the snow leopard, Eurasian lynx and Pallas’s cat.
Climate change is a serious risk to wildlife In India’s trans-Himalayan area of Ladakh, with research suggesting it forces many wild species to shift their habitat to take care of the rising temperatures. However, at current, one other risk for wildlife looms in Ladakh – free-ranging dogs.
A just lately printed study investigated the patterns of free-ranging dogs’ predation on livestock and wildlife within the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary of Ladakh, from 2015 to 2017, and located that there are 310 free-ranging dogs per 100 sq km in Hanle space and 61 free-ranging dogs per 100 sq km in Tso Moriri space of the sanctuary.
The mammals discovered within the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary embrace Himalayan blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), Ladakh urial (Ovis vignei), Tibetan argali (Ovis ammon), Tibetan wild ass (Equus kiang), Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana), purple fox (Vulpes vulpes), Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticaudata), snow leopard (Panthera uncia), dhole (Cuon alpinus), Himalayan or woolly wolf (Canis lupus), Eurasian lynx or Himalayan lynx (Lynx lynx) and Pallas’s cat (Otocolobus manul).
Among the mammals, there are three wild cats in Changthang – the snow leopard is the apex predator and the most important felid, Eurasian lynx is a medium-size cat and Pallas’s cat is a small cat.
Neeraj Mahar, a researcher with Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the lead creator of the examine carried out within the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary and printed in April this yr, is of the opinion that regardless that these dogs don’t kill Ladakh’s wild cats equivalent to snow leopard, Eurasian lynx and Pallas’s cat, they nonetheless have an effect on them to an awesome extent.
“The free-ranging dogs are in a way stealing the resources of carnivores. So there is a competition. They are also big in size, so Pallas’s cat and Eurasian lynx get intimidated by them, even brown bears can’t stand in front of them. I have seen a pack of these dogs chasing away a whole pack of wolves. So there is an impact on wild cats and there is a competition,” he informed Mongabay-India.
Apart from predation, which seems to be the main affect, feral dogs are additionally concerned in competitors for prey with wild species. Disturbance, illness transmission and hybridisation are different impacts on wildlife.
“Because of their instinctive nature, dogs will still form packs, and chase animals, either for food, or for fun. Such encounters can have potentially deadly effects on wildlife, either through direct killing, or by constant harassment and stress,” Abi T. Vanak, conservation scientist with Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), who has studied the affect of free-ranging dogs, was quoted in a paper on the administration of free-ranging dogs in and round protected areas.
Speaking to Mongabay India, Vanak stated, “Hunting is not the only problem. Dogs have been known to kill smaller carnivores, as well as chase away snow leopards from their kills.”
“For small wild cats, the free-ranging dogs are most detrimental. First, they force these cats into competitive exclusion. Second, during the competition they are involved in direct killing as well. So, in today’s date, managing the free-ranging dogs is the main threat,” stated Pankaj Raina, the Chief Wildlife Warden of Ladakh.
How dangerous is the issue?
A canine that’s not underneath supervision is taken into account a free-ranging canine, significantly within the context of protected areas.
Presently, official information on the inhabitants of free-ranging dogs isn’t available. But, in accordance with the Animal Husbandry Department, the present variety of free-ranging dogs in Ladakh is about 25,000. As per the 20th Livestock Census 2019, there have been 3,08,897 stray dogs within the state of Jammu and Kashmir. In the 19th Livestock Census 2012, the variety of stray dogs within the state was 2,70,577. During each the surveys, Ladakh was part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
In Ladakh, the presence of free-ranging dogs has been established by researchers. While scientific surveys are restricted, anecdotal proof from researchers and others exhibits that the variety of free-ranging dogs has elevated in recent years and their inhabitants can also be growing in protected areas which might be home to a few of the uncommon wildlife species of India and central Asia.
“More than 6,500 feral dogs are there in Ladakh alone. These are mainly in two sanctuaries in Ladakh; one is Changthang and the second is Karakoram. There are more wild animals being killed and maimed across India by dogs than human beings. No action is being taken because dogs are an emotive subject,” wildlife skilled M.Ok. Ranjitsingh informed Mongabay India.
“The dogs are in conflict with the humans and cattle, but the conflict with the wildlife is much more severe and at a higher proportion. Ladakh is a part of the northern flyway, so a lot of birds migrate here. Second, in Ladakh, most of the birds are ground breeders so they lay their eggs on the ground. These dogs pick the chicks of black-necked cranes to ruddy shell duck and bar-headed goose, and this is a serious threat for us,” stated Raina. Birds such because the black-necked crane and ruddy shelduck in addition to small mammals equivalent to voles, pikas, marmots and woolly hares are predated upon by unowned dogs.
The battle of regulation
Wildlife consultants counsel that in protected areas, the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 ought to prevail over every other Act or Rules. The authorities, underneath the Wildlife Protection Act, can declare any wild animal, besides Schedule I and II animals, a ‘vermin’ in case they turn into a risk. However, since feral dogs weren’t ‘wild animals’, they can’t be declared vermin.
Researcher and analysis director of True Conservation Alliance, Ryan Lobo stated, “It takes just one chief wildlife warden to take the decision and order the permanent removal or euthanasia of dogs from a protected area. But, at present, everyone is afraid of pressure from animal rights organisations and a particular politician who pushes this agenda both in the courts and behind the scenes.”
Read extra: [Commentary] India wants a scientific response to mitigate the inhabitants of free-ranging dogs
“In our country, the whole problem stems from the ABC rules that are very animal rights inspired. The policy in some way gives dogs greater rights than human beings, or wildlife for that matter,” Lobo informed Mongabay India.
During a meeting held with the Ladakh UT administration in 2021, Ranjitsingh had advised that the Wildlife Protection Act ought to be used to guard Ladakh’s wildlife from the free-ranging dogs.
“The Act says that if anybody brings (inside a protected area) anything injurious to wildlife and the habitat they can be prosecuted, the same applies to weapons,” Ranjitsingh stated.
“If the chief wildlife warden is allowing any activity to take place in a national park or sanctuary in national defence, whether it is the army, Ladakh scouts, police or the border road organisation, if they have dogs with them, it is their duty to tie them up. If they don’t keep them tied then they should be prosecuted for the act of bringing in the animal,” Ranjithsingh advised.
ATREE’s Vanak stated he believes that the Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA) provides sufficient powers to the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWW) to guard the wildlife from feral dogs. “The WLPA empowers the CWW to take any action to protect and safeguard wildlife. Therefore, the CWW can order the removal of dogs from wildlife areas by any means necessary. This was done by the Maharashtra government by changing the Forest Rule,” Vanak informed Mongabay India.
“There is no clear policy about free-ranging dogs in the country till now. The animal birth control (ABC) programme mostly remains unsuccessful as it needs long-term efforts and its results also start showing at least three to four years later. Culling is also not an accepted norm, as of now. So, it’s a serious question that needs answers,” Raina stated.
Waste administration
Improper waste disposal and its administration is being cited as one of many main causes behind the growing inhabitants of free-ranging dogs in Ladakh.
The scat evaluation in Mahar’s recent examine exhibits that the majority of those dogs feed on waste generated by people. The density of free-ranging dogs round human settlements, like short-term pastoralist camps, military camps and labour camps, is larger compared to locations the place there isn’t a human settlement.
“As free-ranging dogs tend to depend on human subsidies, we predicted that a major part of their diet constitutes readily available food from human-dominated landscapes,” the examine says.
“In the tourist season there are hundreds of restaurants and cafes and the dogs survive on their waste. But in winters, when there is nothing, the dogs don’t get anything to survive on and they start attacking the wildlife and even humans. It’s an alarming situation for the administration,” stated chairman of Wildlife Conservation and Birds Club of Ladakh, Lobzang Visuddha.
Banner picture: A free-ranging canine on the hunt, capturing a pika. Photo by Neeraj Mahar
